Pencil case



A. JOHNSTONE PENCIL CASE Filed July 7, 1927 Patented Oct. 30, 1 928.

PATENT ounce.

ALAN J OHNSTONE, OF CARSHALTON, ENGILAND.

PENCIL CASE.

Application filed July 7, 1927, Serial No. 204,088, and in Great Britain July 8, 1926.

The subject matterof this invention is a. pencil case with several alternately movable leads for use with two concentric tubes displaceable and rotatable with respect to each other, the form, arrangement and design of which have for their purpose, as compared with known pencils of this description, to produce an article which is easy to use and reliable, and can be made in the simplest manner.

According to this invention a series of rods are provided, one end of each rod being secured to a lead carrier contained in the inner tube, the other end being provided with nose sliding in a slotted tube secured to the rear of the said inner tube and projecting into the outer tube. Transversely mounted in the outer tube are two parallel lugs.

Upon longitudinal movement of the outer tube over the inner tube either the upper or the lower of the two lugs engages the nose on one of the movable rods. The rod to be operated is selected by rotation of the tubes so as to bring marks on the tubes into alignment.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in wh1ch:

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation showing one method of carrying out my invention;

Fig. 2 is an outside elevation of the pencil of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the lines 33 of Fig. 1.

As illustrated in these drawings, the penoil consists of a cylindrical inner tube 1, hfLV-r ing mounted on its rear end a cylindrical outer tube 2, longitudinally dlsplaceable and rotatable with respect to the inner tube 1. The forward end of the outer tube 2 is made of a size just to fit over the inner tube 1, the rear end of the latter being thickened to prevent removal of the outer tube 2-. The rear end of the inner tube 1 contains a plug 8,in which are mounted guide tubes 4 equidistant from each other and each having a longitudinal slot 5 the whole length of the tube 1. The slotted tubes 4 extend into and are housed in the out er tube 2.

Slidably mounted in each of the guide tubes 4 is a rod 6, its forward end being secured to the rear of a lead carrier 7 and having at its rear end a nose 8 which projects through the slot 5.

Secured to the interior of the outer tube 2, and movable therewith, is a short cylindrical tube 9, having at its forward end an inturned circular flange or lug 10, which fits around the guide tubes 4. The flange 10 is situated below the noses 8 of the rods 6.

Secured to the inside of the short tube 9, is another short tube 11 having at its rear end an inturned flange or lug 12 parallel with the flange or lug 10. Additional flanges 12 and 12 may be provided. The flanges or lugs 12, 12, 12, when the pencil is in the position shown in Fig. 1, are situated above the noses 8 of the rods 6. Marks 13, 1 1 for identifying and aligning the leads to be used are provided on the tubes 1 and 2 respectively.

- The forward end of the inner tube 1 has the usual conical nose 15 which may be detachable and is provided with an aperture through which the lead may be extruded. The space between the guide tubes 1 may be used as a reservoir for spare leads and the rear end of the outer tube 2 is closed by a cap 16. r

The operation of the pencil is as follows Assuming the parts to be in the position shown in the figures, that is with all the leads retracted, the outer tube 2 is pulled back as far as possible. This causes all the rods 6 to be also pulled back by the engagement of the flange or lug 10 with the noses 8. The outer tube 2 is then rotated so thatthe mark 14 thereon is in alignment with the mark 13 on the inner tube 1, which indicates that the desired lead is in position to be pushed forward. In this position the flange or lug 12 is directly above and will engage with the nose 8 on the rod 6 secured to the lead carrier 7 containing the lead selected, while the flanges or lugs 12, 12 are in a position to engage in the spaces between the tubes 1, when the outer tube 2 is pushed forward. This engagement of the flanges or lugs 12 12, in the spaces between the tubes 4: assists in preventing relative rotation of the tubes 1 and 2 during longitudinal movement of the outer tube 2 over the inner tube 1. The tube 2 is then pushed forward over the tube 1, until the desired lead is in the writing position.

I claim y A pencil case comprising two concentric tubes displaceable and rotatable with respect to each other, a series of longitudinally slotted guide tubes mounted in the rear endiof the inner of said concentric tubes and extending into the outer of said concentric tubes, a series of rods sliding in said guide tubes a lead carrier on the forward end and a nose on the rear end of each of said rods, said noses project ing through the 1ongitudina1 slots in the guide tubes, a pair of parallel flanges on the outer concentric tube for engaging the noses on said rods, one to eXtrude and the other to retract the selected lead and additional flanges which enter the spaces between the slotted guide tubes and prevent relative rotation between the two concentric tubes during longitudinal movement.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 27th day of June, 1927.

ALAN JOHNSTONE. 

